Class 10th and 12th results are out – What next? Here’s a quick guide for you!

With the board exam results out, the last few days saw a gush of all sorts of hormones in students and off course their parents! From anxiety and excitement to celebration and sighs of relief (hopefully!). Well, this was indeed a milestone in your life! So, now if you find yourself being bugged by the constant typical questions like “What next?” or “So, which field are you going to go for?” or “What’s your plan?” and your mind says “I dont know!”, Congrats! You are perfectly normal!

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Till now, your life was completely focused towards your exams (hopefully!) and some short term goals, but now the horizons of your life will widen (and will continue to if you wish!) and with each promotion you will be brought to crossroads. There may be many to influence be it your parents, friends, teachers, relatives or even neighbors but no one to inform. Many, with no idea of what lies ahead or around, take a plunge! And yes! Its an important one!

The most postponed question for a student is “What do you want to do in life?”. According to psychology, this phase is typically marked by “identity crisis” or “role confusion” in teenagers. The young adult is not able to ascertain as to what does he really like to do, where does he fit in well and what role does he have to play in this society?

In short, the most dreaded question is “Who am I?”

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Adding to this misery, is the constant pressure to keep up with parent’s (unusually) high expectations, peer’s choices and off course the question that literally guides our life “log kya kahenge?”

I once heard someone say [clickToTweet tweet=”The only weapon that can kill confusion is information! by @Nupur_Chirp via @happyduniya ” quote=”The only weapon that can kill confusion is information!”] Let us see how!

1. Interest

They say a man works for either of the three reasons:

Greed,

Fear or

Love

Almost all of us have used the first two to push ourselves to study! But the question is “How long?”. On the other hand, if you do what you love doing, its effortless!

Photo credits- www.lifehack.org

All the present or past successful people in the world be it Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, Narendra Modi, Ratan Tata, Mother Teresa, Oprah Winfrey or even Charlie Chaplin simply love what they do (or did) and hence the result! You follow the first two and you end up being like any other zombie office goer who lives on coffee and drags his days to wait for the weekend so that he can finally booze and forget his “not even worth remembering life”!

But here comes an interesting point to remember, the funny thing about interest is that it, specially in teenagers, keeps changing!

There was a time when you wanted to become an astronaut and then it progressively changed to a policeman, a model, a journalist, MTV roadie and what not! So how wise would it be base the decisions of your life on an idea which keeps changing! The following points will come to your rescue.

2. Aptitude- the most misunderstood word!

No, it has got nothing to do with attitude! Aptitude, to be put simply is your skill or talent. A skill which is more than that of the average masses.

Your aptitude or abilities can help you know if you really have what it takes to make it big in a particular field. In short, the potential.

For example, you would have noticed that are some of us are naturally fast in grasping languages or mathematics or analyzing or reasoning or dancing or running or simply copying and pasting! (yup that’s one of the aptitudes!)

[clickToTweet tweet=”In order to excel in any field you not only need interest but also the aptitude (or ability). ” quote=”In order to excel in any field you not only need interest but also the aptitude (or ability). “]

If you are highly interested to become an engineer and have barely managed to pass your Maths, forget about it!

3. Personality

Sam is an introvert and prefers being with himself and his work and his feeling is “Why do people have to talk anyway?” Now imagine, Sam getting into MBA and that too MARKETING! Will he be of any good there?Here is, Joey, who loves socializing and just cant stay indoors. Joey has opted for computer programming and is now expected to work more than half of his life in front of the computer! Extroversion and introversion are just two of the many personality traits of a person. You need to understand what kind of a personality a particular job profile requires if you really are looking forward to work in it! (Pun intended!)

Photo credits- www.personalityperfect.com

4. Opportunities in the chosen field

What is the current state of your chosen field in your country, state and city?
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A mechanical engineer by education, a Soft Skills Trainer by profession and a certified Psychological Counselor by passion!
It was during the end of my engineering that I realized that I prefer understanding humans over machines!
I love meditating, going on adventure trips, being with nature and listening to people (without judging!)
My mantra is "Dive deep into the ocean of life within you!"